Health News at Your Fingertips

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews waded into discussions around working arrangements amid surging waves of Covid, saying flexible work is “here to stay.”

Andrews was fronting a press conference this morning, and said flexible work arrangements, that would include working from home set ups, should be enshrined in enterprise bargaining agreements.

Enterprise bargains are always best when they are accompanied by a sense of good faith, a sense of partnership, and there’s a bit of give and take and you’ll find a balanced outcome,” he told reporters in the regional Victorian city of Ballarat on Friday.

I know that there are challenges with working from home … but some changes, I think they’re here to stay.

It’s not a concept anymore, it’s a lived experience of people for two, three years.

Good afternoon, and quick thanks to Natasha for another stellar shift on this rainy Friday. Mostafa Rachwani with you this afternoon, with much still going on, so let’s dive in.

Thanks for following along this Splendour in the Grass live blog (with a bit of politics thrown in for good measure). Handing you over to my colleague Mostafa Rachwani who will take you through into your weekend!

Dominic Perrottet says he’ll face questions on John Barilaro’s appointment to NY trade job next month

The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, said he is standing firm on not appearing before an upper house inquiry into the appointment of former deputy premier John Barilaro to a $500,000-a-year New York trade posting, AAP reports.

Perrottet, who is in Japan as part of a 10-day trade mission to Asia, said he was waiting for recommendations from an independent review he had set up to look into the now-abandoned appointment before facing questioning at the budget estimates in a month.

Disappointment from those turned around after 14-hour wait at Splendour in the Grass

Some understandable frustration from festival goers who were told they would have to go to Byron Events farm 15 minutes away from the festival after waiting 14 hours in the queue to enter Splendour in the Grass’ camp ground.

That announcement that the site wouldn’t be taking any more campers or vehicles came through earlier this morning.

The wet and muddy conditions at the music festival continue to inspire jokes online.

Queensland flood water risk continues

Queensland Fire and Emergency is reminding people not to travel through moving flood waters, following – as we told you on the blog earlier – a man’s death after being swept away in floodwaters in South East Queensland.

Queensland police are still working to formally identify the man, with police divers and forensic officers at the scene near Sandy Creek, the ABC is reporting.

Reactions to Splendour cancellation

As the news came through this hour that the first day of Splendour in the Grass has been cancelled, reactions are ranging from disappointment to solidarity with artists dealt another blow after the industry struggled through Covid-19 lockdowns. And of course a bit of poking fun at the expense of festivalgoers.

And for some the day has only gotten worse as they lose personal items amidst the mud …

Almost half of young women in Australia report mental health disorder, study finds

The first national study of its kind in more than a decade has found almost half of all young women in Australia suffered an anxiety, depression or substance abuse disorder last financial year.

For males in the same age bracket (16 to 24), it was about one in three.

Josh Taylor

No plans to challenge Nintendo over trademark application for ‘NSW’ in EU, state government says

The New South Wales government won’t be taking any immediate action against gaming giant Nintendo applying for the trademark “NSW” with the European Union intellectual property office.

Earlier this month, gaming sites noticed Nintendo had sought to register “NSW” as a trademark in Europe as a shorthand designation for its Nintendo Switch console.

This caused some in Australia to raise an eyebrow, given its the acronym for our most populous state.

Guardian Australia asked the NSW government a few weeks back whether it planned to do anything about it and today we’ve been told there are no plans at this stage to challenge it.

A NSW government spokesperson said:

The NSW Government is aware Nintendo has applied for registration of the initialism NSW for its Switch product under the Goods and Services category in the European Union.

This registration is in the European Union and pertains to the electronic games programs and games descriptor categories there.

The Government will monitor any future registrations of the initialism of NSW.

Nintendo did not respond to a request for comment.

Splendour in the Grass organisers have confirmed that the first day of the festival has been cancelled due to weather conditions.

In a statement just released, they say the day has been cancelled in the “interest of patron safety” and that Moshtix will be in contact with ticket holders for refunds in the “coming week”.

A significant weather system is currently sitting off the east coast and may reach land later today bringing more rainfall. In the interest of patron safety and in consultation with all relevant emergency services, we have decided to err on the side of caution and cancel performances on the main stages today only – Amphitheatre, Mix Up, GW McLennan and Park(lands) Stages. All of our destination spaces (Global Village, Tipi Forest, Forum, Comedy and Science tents etc.) will remain open today for patrons who are already onsite as well as those at our satellite campground at Byron Events Farm. Please relax and enjoy what is open.

Day patrons are asked not to attend to the festival today while we work on repairs.

In the coming week Moshtix will be in contact with the ticket holders affected directly, via the email address used to purchase their ticket, for further information on refunds. We ask for patience while we work through the refund process.

Please be assured that our event team is working very hard to provide the best experience possible under the current circumstances.

We look forward to Saturday and Sunday programming moving ahead as planned.

Sian Cain

Splendour stages ‘being packed up’

There are unconfirmed reports emerging that the first day of Splendour in the Grass festival has been cancelled due to wild weather, with multiple acts due to perform today being told their shows will not go ahead.

ABC reporter Tobi Loftus has tweeted that he has been “told by security all four main stages at Splendour in the Grass are cancelled for today”.

“Several other staff members telling me the same thing. Severe weather warning for the area, winds etc, mean it’s unsafe to run the event. This is currently unconfirmed by event organisers. Only word from security and sound engineers. But stages like the GW McLennan tent are being packed up,” he added

We’re trying to get official confirmation from the organisers and the SES – we’ll update as soon as we hear.

Local ABC journalist Tobi Loftus has tweeted that all four main stages at Splendour in the Grass will be cancelled today:

We have reached out for confirmation, and will bring you the latest as it comes.

Screening at airports will be ramped up in a bid to stop foot-and-mouth disease from coming to Australia, AAP reports.

Speaking from Brisbane, the agriculture minister, Murray Watt, announced the strengthened biosecurity measures, saying he had directed his department to investigate other control options.

Response zones could be established at airports as soon as today, where travellers would be directed by biosecurity officers to comply with measures, including removing their shoes or walking over sanitation mats.

It would be the first time the powers under the Biosecurity Act would be used in Australia, Senator Watt said.

I’ve directed my department to step up its visibility at the border and step up the number of inquiries of passengers, particularly in baggage halls, and that should be starting to occur right now.

Our agriculture industry is at stake and it’s vital that we continue to work together to ensure Australia is foot and mouth disease free.

Viral fragments of foot-and-mouth disease were detected in pork products at a Melbourne retailer.

But Australia remains free of the disease, as the live virus hasn’t been detected.

Watt rejected calls from the opposition to ban flights from Indonesia.

Paul Karp

Greens want integrity commission remit broadened

The Greens have responded to confirmation that Labor’s national integrity commission bill will include contracted private service providers, which the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, revealed for the first time publicly today.

The Greens justice spokesperson, David Shoebridge, said:

This is a useful first step but it does not answer the question about how far the new commission’s jurisdiction needs to extend. There are countless third parties, especially corporations, who can gain enormous financial advantages from the commonwealth government through policy or legislative changes rather than just through contracts.

Right now fossil fuel corporations and mining multinationals are opposing efforts to remove more than $10bn in annual fossil fuel subsidies. The potential for these organisations to seek to corruptly retain or extend these benefits is real and these kind of relationships must be in the new commission’s remit.

There were 4,374 new Covid-19 cases in South Australia the last reporting period, and seven deaths. There are 358 people in hospital in the state and 12 are in intensive care.

Rescue teams have recovered the body of a man who had been swept away in flood waters in Queensland’s South Burnett region on Friday morning, AAP reports.

Queensland police say they have yet to identify the man, who was reportedly in a car that was washed away outside of Brooklands, north-west of Brisbane, at about 5.30am.

Beaches are closed and there have been multiple reports of cars in flood water as a powerful offshore weather system moves south along Australia’s east coast.

Flash flooding has been affecting areas of the South Burnett region and drivers are being urged to stay off the roads.

Emergency crews responded to two separate incidents when drivers found themselves in trouble in the region.

A woman was assessed at the scene and didn’t need to be taken to hospital after an incident on the Bunya Highway near Kingaroy early on Friday morning.

Two people in their 50s also avoided injury when a car entered flood waters on Kumbia Road in Brooklands.

The local school in Nanango will be closed on Friday, Queensland’s premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said.

Musicians send ‘dry sock energy’ to Splendour festivalgoers

Musicians are taking to social media to tell fans they will still be playing at Splendour in the Grass despite the chaos being caused by torrential rain and staff shortages.

Melbourne indie rock bank the Rolling Blackouts C.F had this message for fans ahead of their performance this evening:

Class action filed against NSW police over music festival strip searches

Michael McGowan

A class action lawsuit against the state of New South Wales over what lawyers allege were a series of illegal strip searches by police at music festivals has been lodged in the state’s supreme court.

In a statement of claim filed on Friday lawyers for the plaintiffs allege the police carried out a series of “unlawful acts” during searches conducted at music festivals, including “assault, battery and false imprisonment”.

Group members also allege that some people who were searched – including minors – were directed by police to lift or remove items of clothing, lift their breasts or genitals, or strip naked and squat and cough so officers could visually inspect body cavities.

Women were ordered to remove sanitary products so they too could be inspected. Group members are seeking damages, aggravated damages and exemplary damages from the state. This could be in the order of tens of thousands of dollars for those subjected to particularly invasive or distressing searches.

The lawsuit, launched by Slater and Gordon and the Redfern Legal Centre, has been years in the making. The Guardian first revealed plans for the action in May 2020.

It followed an inquiry by the NSW police watchdog which cast doubt on the legality of strip search powers used in the state.

The inquiry heard heard evidence a 16-year-old girl was fearful and in tears after she was forced to strip naked and squat in front of a police officer who then “looked underneath” her at the Splendour in the Grass festival in 2018.

But in the absence of parliamentary reform, lawyers decided to launch the case to challenge the use of the powers.

The lead plaintiff, Raya Meredith, alleges that she was also strip searched by police at the 2018 Splendour in the Grass festival. In a separate incident to the 16-year-old girl, Meredith, who was 27 at the time of the search, alleges the search took about 30 minutes. The search did not locate any drugs or prohibited items and she was allowed to go on her way. The statement of claim states a male officer entered the room while she was still undressed.

She said in a statement:

What police did to me was wrong.

I don’t want what I went through to happen to anyone else. I’ve heard all sorts of stories about minors being searched and people being inappropriately searched – made to bend over and cough and things like that. These practices are unlawful, they need to stop and those responsible for allowing it to happen should be held to account.